
Thanks a bunch, Christopher Nolan. Ever since Batman Begins took the universally-reviled cinematic bastardization of a cool character and redrew it in the drab colors and long shadows of The Dark Knight Returns, the “gritty reboot” has been back in fashion. In Hollywood-speak, the term's a nice way of saying “we've screwed this up, can we have a do-over?” Of course, games being a forward-looking sort of medium, players have been wise to this trick for years now – and we're still suckers for it.
Whether it's a deeper-'n-darker sequel or restarting from scratch, rejigging your series with a darker palette and more distorted guitars is a great way to draw attention to what might otherwise be just more sequel-abuse. But how well does it work? From a player's perspective, a gray coat of paint is hardly going to turn gameplay upside down... but from a “cataloguing the tricks they'll pull to sell a new installment” standpoint, dark reboots are just gravy...
You may be familiar with Andy Riley's superb book The Bunny Suicides. We liked it so much, we thought we'd create an homage to it, using everyone's favourite flower-headed people.
These Pikmin burned too bright for this world. Rest in pieces
What happened to gaming? The past two years haven’t been about blockbuster games. The most exciting, most innovative, most playable games aren’t from the usual suspects. Instead, they’re being made by coffee-shop artists who are absolutely outclassing the establishment. Who are these heroes? Where did they come from? How did they do it? And, anyway, what the hell is indie gaming?
What happened to gaming? The past two years haven’t been about blockbuster games. The most exciting, most innovative, most playable games aren’t from the usual suspects. Instead, they’re being made by coffee-shop artists who are absolutely outclassing the establishment. Who are these heroes? Where did they come from? How did they do it? And, anyway, what the hell is indie gaming?
The holiday gaming rush has begun in earnest, as our list of October's releases will confirm. Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed, Pokemon, Need for Speed, and more have sequels this month, on top of dozens of other games. Get informed...
The holiday gaming rush has begun in earnest, as our list of October's releases will confirm. Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed, Pokemon, Need for Speed, and more have sequels this month, on top of dozens of other games. Get informed...
What happened to gaming? The past two years haven’t been about blockbuster games. The most exciting, most innovative, most playable games aren’t from the usual suspects. Instead, they’re being made by coffee-shop artists who are absolutely outclassing the establishment. Who are these heroes? Where did they come from? How did they do it? And, anyway, what the hell is indie gaming?
You never knew they were so wrong...
You may be familiar with Andy Riley's superb book The Bunny Suicides. We liked it so much, we thought we'd create an homage to it, using everyone's favourite flower-headed people.
These Pikmin burned too bright for this world. Rest in pieces
Graphics, schmaphics. Who says you need visuals to enjoy a video game? Here are six worthwhile games that fly in the face of illustrative norms by forcing you to imagine what things look like...